When does Love Island 2023 start? Release date, host, and latest news
The final is here!
After nine weeks of flirting, re-coupling and Casa Amor shocks, the Love Island 2023 winter finale is upon us as Maya Jama prepares to crown the season 9 champions.
We've watched 35 contestants enter the South African villa and now only eight remain heading into tonight's final, which will air the couples' last day on the show before we dive into the highlights of their relationships.
Unfortunately, last night's episode saw Jessie Wynter and Will Young fall at the last Love Island hurdle after receiving the fewest votes, leaving us with just six remaining couples: Shaq Muhammad and Tanya Manhenga, Samie Elishi and Tom Clare, Lana Jenkins and Ron Hall, and Sanam Harrinanan and Kai Fagan.
While we'll be missing Love Island from the TV schedules, thankfully we won't have to wait too long until the summer season returns to our screens.
In the meantime, here's everything you need to know about Love Island winter 2023.
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Love Island 2023 start date
Love Island began on Monday 16th January 2023 on ITV2 and will air on weekdays and Sunday nights at 9pm.
Episodes will also be available to stream on ITVX.
The first ever winter season kicked off on Sunday 12th January 2020 and saw Finn Tapp and Paige Turley walk home with the £50,000 cash prize.
Winter Love Island 2023 host
Love Island is hosted by TV presenter Maya Jama.
In October, Jama was revealed as the new presenter, following Laura Whitmore's exit.
"I've always been such a massive Love Island fan and I'm so excited to be hosting one of the nation's favourite shows! I can't wait to get into the villa to meet all of the islanders," the 28-year-old said.
Whitmore - who hosted the first winter season in 2020 and both the 2021 and 2022 summer seasons - quit the show last year, admitting she found some elements of the series "difficult" to overcome.
Sharing a statement on social media, she explained: "Some news! I won’t be hosting the next series of Love island. There are certain elements of the show I’ve found very difficult that cannot be changed some due to the format, including the flying back and forth to South Africa along with my new conflicting projects. I wish it was still possible but know you’ll be in safe hands. I was only planning to fill in for Caroline for a series and it turned into 3 series. I hope I did you proud Caroline.”
Love Island narrator
Iain Stirling returned to Love Island for the ninth season.
Stirling - who is married to former host Laura - narrated the show from 2015 until 2022.
As well as Love Island, he's the host of his very own panel show CelebAbility, and is a regular on Celebrity Gogglebox alongside wife Laura.
Who will star in Love Island 2023?
The line-up for Love Island 2023 has been confirmed.
The following cast members are taking part in the new season.
- Tanya Mahenga
- Kai Fagan
- Lana Jenkins
- Ron Hall
- Anna-May Robey
- Will Young
- Tanyel Revan
- Shaq Muhammad
- Olivia Hawkins
- Haris Namani
- Tom Clare
- David Salako
- Zara Deniz Lackenby-Brown
We're sure more will be added to the lineup as the series progresses.
How many Love Islands will there be in 2023?
You might be worried summer Love Island has been scrapped for 2023, seeing as we're getting the winter treat of a season starting January this year, but allow us to put your mind at ease.
There will be two seasons of Love Island in 2023, with ITV confirming the summer show will go ahead as normal – so this one is actually just an extra added bonus!
"Love Island has once again proved itself to be the nation’s favourite talking point across the summer,"Paul Mortimer, Director of Reality Commissioning and Controller, ITV2, said last summer. "And we’re always blown away by the show’s ongoing impact and talkability amongst our younger audience.
"So, rather than just serving up a Summer of Love, we thought we’d make 2023 the Year of Love with two full series of the show.
"After eight brilliant series, we are excited to be serving up two helpings of love in 2023 by kicking off in January at a stunning new villa in South Africa. We can look forward to more romances, bromances and everything in between as we embark on another epic year of love."
Winter Love Island 2023 trailer
ITV launched a couple of teaser trailers for the new run on Boxing Day 2022 – including one which teased new host Maya Jama alongside the caption "New year, new series, new host. Let's do this, @MayaJama."
The other featured a spinning pink bronco and was captioned: "Are you ready to grab love by the horns? You know what's coming when you hear this noise."
Where is Love Island filmed?
The Winter Love Island series will take place in South Africa. An exact location hasn't been revealed, but we'll inform you right here once it's confirmed.
For 2022, the summer series moved to a brand new villa in Mallorca's Sant Llorenc des Cardassar, complete with two fire places, a bigger bedroom area, lounge, and a hideaway.
Who won Love Island 2022?
Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti were announced as the Love Island 2022 winners.
They beat Gemma Owen and Luca Bish, Indiyah Polack and Dami Hope, and Tasha Ghouri and Andrew Le Page, who all made it to the final.
Since Love Island, Ekin-Su and Davide have moved in together, and they recently returned to their home countries for new ITV travel series Ekin-Su & Davide: Homecomings.
Winter Love Island airs every night at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX in 2023. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide or Streaming Guide, visit our Entertainment hub for the latest news.
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